


Three's a Crowd

by almostafantasia



Series: Clexa Week 2019 [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, Clexaweek2019, Day 3 - Only One Bed, F/F, Oblivious Raven, Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, aka a tent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 19:09:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17986937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostafantasia/pseuds/almostafantasia
Summary: Clarke and Lexa, who are in the early stages of a secret relationship, go on a group camping trip and manage to end up sharing a tent. Unfortunately for them and their budding relationship, when there’s a fault with one of the other tents, they end up with an entirely unsuspecting third wheel lying between them.





	Three's a Crowd

A tent should  _ not _ be this hard to put together.

Before this camping trip, Lexa had been so certain that setting up a tent would be a skill embedded into her lesbian DNA, like building a set of shelves, or always being able to unscrew the lid on a jar.

Lexa couldn’t have been more wrong.

She lets out a frustrated huff as the tent pole she’s spent the better part of five minutes trying to wrangle into the right place springs free once more, causing the entire roof of the tiny blue tent to collapse until it resembles nothing more than a misshapen pile of canvas on the ground. Lexa is just about ready to donate the entire thing to the kindling for the campfire flickering in the centre of their little circle of half-constructed tents and sheepishly ask Bellamy if she can spend the night sleeping on the back seat of his truck instead.

“Need a hand?”

Lexa glances up only momentarily at Clarke, who wanders over from the campfire she helped Lincoln to ignite, before she wraps her hand resolutely around the offending pole and tries to force it once against into the right position.

“I’ve got this,” Lexa tells Clarke, though even as she says the words, the pole springs out of her grasp again.

“Of course you do.”

Lexa drags her eyes back up to Clarke, who seems to be finding extraordinary amusement in watching Lexa struggle with a tent, and glowers at her.

“I know you think you’re being scary and intimidating when you glare at me like that,” says Clarke, dropping down into a squatting position next to Lexa so that she can reach out and cup Lexa’s jaw, “but you’re just too pretty for it to work.”

Lexa continues to glare for a few moments, until Clarke’s thumb brushes tenderly across her cheek, and she softens under the touch and Clarke’s compliment. She turns her head ever so slightly, making to press her lips against Clarke’s hand, before she remembers that they’re in the middle of a very open campsite with most of their close friends lurking nearby, pulling her head away from Clarke’s hand at the last minute.

Lexa watches the disappointment flash across Clarke’s face, and has to look away in shame.

“Would it really be so bad if anybody saw?”

Lexa considers Clarke’s question carefully. They’ve discussed this a few times over the last few weeks, first deciding that they would keep it to themselves as they navigated the first few dates, not wanting to disrupt the wider friendship circle in which they both belong, in case things didn’t work out. More recently, it has been a case of waiting for the right moment to tell their friends that they’re dating. Lexa knows that they’re both ready to go public, but she wants to  _ tell _ her friends, not let them find out by accidentally noticing them kissing in the middle of a campsite.

“Well, no,” admits Lexa. “But we agreed we’d wait until Octavia and Anya join us tomorrow and tell them all together.”

“I know,” concedes Clarke, nodding her head in acknowledgement. “Though I’m pretty sure they already know.”

“They do?”

“I mean, they invited us on a couples’ camping trip.”

“It’s not a coup-”

Lexa trails off as her eyes fall upon Bellamy and Echo, setting up their own two-person tent a few yards away, then turns her head to watch Raven pitching the tent she’ll be sharing with Anya from tomorrow. When Anya and Octavia arrive after their soccer game tomorrow morning, they will indeed be a party made up of four couples, even if Clarke and Lexa’s budding relationship hasn’t been officially made public to their friends yet.

“Shit,” mutters Lexa. “I guess it  _ is _ a couples’ trip.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help you with the tent?” asks Clarke, gesturing to the abandoned pile of canvas and poles. “Because if we’ve got nothing to sleep in, I’m definitely snuggling up to Lincoln. Octavia says he’s like a space heater at night.”

Lexa feels a little beast of jealousy stir in her chest at the thought of Clarke cuddling with somebody else, despite knowing that Clarke and Lincoln will never be anything more than good friends.

“Fine,” concedes Lexa, beckoning Clarke closer. “I don’t know how you’re supposed to put one of these together on your own.”

* * *

With four hands, the tent gets set up in no time. Lexa wants to pout and whine about her defeat at the hands of an inanimate object, but she finds it hard to be in a sour mood with Clarke by her side.

As night starts to fall, their little group all congregates around the fire lit by Lincoln and Clarke earlier on. As Bellamy and Echo put themselves in charge of cooking dinner, Lexa sets up two camping chairs, relieved that it takes about five seconds to unfold them, rather than needing to ask for a second pair of hands to help. She takes a seat in one and is happy when Clarke drops into the second, draping a blanket across both their laps, allowing Lexa to fumble for Clarke’s hand and knot their fingers together out sight of their friends. 

The disappearance of the sun behind the copse of trees on the edge of the campsite brings with it a cold night chill, as the sky that was so beautifully clear and sunny during the day provides no cloud cover to ward off the cold. When not even the dying flames of the campfire and the thick blankets they’re all wrapped up under are enough to keep them warm, the group very quickly bids each other goodnight and disperses into their separate tents.

“I hope you don’t mind me cuddling you for warmth,” says Lexa, bundled up in thick fleece pants and a hoodie, though a traitorous shiver forces her to climb beneath the pair of sleeping bags that she and Clarke have unzipped and laid out as blankets.

“Please, I was counting on it,” grins Clarke, as she takes a seat on the tent floor and wriggles her way under the covers.

Clarke takes the extra blanket that they used to keep them warm outside and drapes it over their bodies too, then shuffles closer to Lexa. One of her arms finds its way around Lexa’s back, pulling their bodies flush against each other.

“In fact,” whispers Clarke, their faces inches apart, “I can think of other ways to stay warm.”

Clarke’s hand dips lower, beneath the fabric of Lexa’s pants, and Lexa lets out a little yelp of surprise as Clarke’s cold hand comes into contact with the warm skin of her ass, palming the flesh suggestively.

“I’m not having sex with you in a tent,” hisses Lexa, shaking her head resolutely. “The walls are so thin that they’re made of canvas! The others will hear us.”

“Only because  _ you _ can’t be quiet,” teases Clarke.

Clarke leans in for a kiss, which Lexa gladly accepts, and she lets herself get lost in the push and pull of Clarke’s lips for a few glorious seconds. Until Clarke’s other hand, the one not shamelessly groping Lexa’s butt, dips between Lexa’s legs and applies a certain pressure through the material of her pyjama pants.

Their lips break apart as Lexa’s lets out a gasp, and she indulges in Clarke’s touch for only a fraction of a second, before remembering where they are. Her fingers quickly wrap around Clarke’s wrist and drag her girlfriend’s hand away.

“Not here,” Lexa insists.

Clarke grumbles incoherently but keeps her hand away, withdrawing the other from the back of Lexa’s pants. Lexa presses her lips to Clarke’s again, drawing her into another kiss as an apology. Clarke kisses her back gently, her hand finding a much more chaste position on the back of Lexa’s head, with her fingers tangling into Lexa’s long hair. Her fingertips caress Lexa’s scalp, and Lexa can’t help but moan softly into Clarke’s waiting mouth.

“Shhh,” Clarke giggles against Lexa’s lips. “I thought you didn’t want anybody to hear us.”

“It’s not my fault,” whines Lexa, burying her face in Clarke’s neck. “It’s not like I  _ want _ to make those sounds. You’re just too good at…”

A sharp crack of a twig snapping outside their tent cuts Lexa off mid-sentence. She lifts her head, peering at Clarke through the darkness to silently ask if she hears the noise too, but before she has time to say anything, the zip of their tent is drawn open with a rasp that penetrates the otherwise silent night.

Within half a second, Clarke has shot across the small tent, putting a foot between their previous entwines bodies, just in time for a familiar head to peer through the new opening to the outdoors.

“The zip on my tent is broken,” says Raven, apparently oblivious to the moment she’s just interrupted between the two girls. The rest of Raven’s body follows her head into the tent, and she turns to zip it back up behind her as she continues, “It’s  _ freezing _ in there. I hope you don’t mind me joining you.”

Lexa opens her mouth to protest that actually, yes she  _ does _ mind Raven showing up unannounced and interrupting her cuddles with Clarke, then closes it again as Raven throws her sleeping bag into the newly made gap between Clarke and Lexa before settling herself down there too.

“Can’t you share with Lincoln?” asks Clarke.

“Are you kidding?” snorts Raven. “And have to explain to Octavia when she arrives, that I spent the night spooning her boyfriend?”

Lexa glances at Clarke over Raven’s head and they share a glance, before quickly looking away before she betrays how she really feels about Raven sharing their tent for the night.

“But this is only a two-person tent,” Clarke tries to protest. “There won’t be room for three of us.”

“We can be close,” Raven dismisses Clarke’s complaint. “And it’ll help us stay warm. Lexa will be my little spoon, won’t you Lexa?”

Lexa glances at Clarke again, seeking out her permission. Clarke’s expression is displeased, but after a few long moments of consideration, Clarke shrugs and settles back down amongst the warm pile of sleeping bags and blankets.

“Of course,” Lexa tells Raven, rolling over so that her back is facing Raven. “But no funny business, okay.”

“Funny business from _ me _ ?” replies Raven, as she settles under the covers and presses herself to Lexa’s back to share body heat. “It’s you two I need to watch out for. I’m the only one in this tent with a girlfriend!”

Somewhere behind her, Lexa hears Clarke snort. Raven doesn’t seem to notice the noise.

“Well, goodnight,” says Raven, her warm breath hitting the back of Lexa’s neck. “Sleep tight.”

* * *

It’s a long night.

At some point in the night, an arm finds its way across Lexa’s body. Lexa decides that it must belong to Raven at first, until she realises that Raven is snoring contentedly between her and Clarke. The fingers of the hand find Lexa’s and knit together, and Lexa knows that they belong to Clarke, her arm draped across Raven between them under the pretence of cuddling for warmth, so that a small part of her can still be close to Lexa despite the circumstances.

Lexa wakes with the sunlight. Raven’s body is still pressed into her own, with Clarke’s arm draped lossely across both of them. Lexa extracts herself carefully and wraps a blanket around her shoulder, then unzips the tent flap and steps outside, before closing the tent behind her.

Outside, the morning air is brisk and sends a fresh shiver through Lexa’s body, but the sky is light and bears a promise of a glorious day. With the blanket still draped across her shoulders, Lexa gets to work lighting the campfire again, carefully placing the pieces of firewood and igniting the kindling below. It takes several minutes for the flame to start flickering in earnest, but Lexa’s pride at the accomplishment following her failure with the tent yesterday, burns as strong within her chest as the fire in front of her.

“How long have you been awake?”

Lexa’s head snaps up when she hears Clarke’s voice behind her, and she smiles fondly as she sees Clarke’s sleep-tousled head emerge from the tent.

“Not long,” Lexa answers truthfully.

“I’m sorry about Raven,” says Clarke, traipsing over to Lexa and adjusting the blanket so that it covers both of their shoulders. Her arms winds its way around Lexa’s waist and Clarke presses her body into Lexa’s side as she continues, “I wanted it to be just the two of us.”

“I know you did,” laughs Lexa, recalling Clarke’s wandering hands just moments before Raven interrupted them. “But hopefully it was just one night. Anya gets here today - let’s hope she brings a spare tent.”

“I hope so too,” agrees Clarke. “I want you all to myself.”

Lexa wraps the blanket around them fully, trapping them both inside its soft warmth, and dips her head just enough to be able to press a kiss to Clarke’s lips. Clarke hums appreciatively and kisses Lexa back, bringing one hand out of their blanket cocoon to cup Lexa’s cheek.

“What the actual  _ fuck _ ?”

They break apart suddenly, each jumping backward so that the blanket falls to the grassy floor and there are several feet between them. Behind them, Raven’s tousled sticks out through the opening to the tent, mouth hanging open and eyes wide with incredulity.

“You two…?” starts Raven, still gaping between them. “You’re…? Since when?”

Lexa’s mouth is too dry for her to be able to answer, but thankfully Clarke steps in and says, “A few weeks. It’s still quite new.”

Raven continues to stare, then says dumbfoundedly, “You and  _ Lexa _ ?” Her faze flicks across to Lexa, and she adds, “You and  _ Clarke _ ?”

“It’s not that hard to understand,” shrugs Clarke, closing the gap between herself and Lexa again and taking Lexa’s hand in her own. “We really like each other.”

“Hang on,” says Raven, her face contorting into a thoughtful frown. “I’ve just spent the night sleeping between you.”

“Oh,” Lexa laughs and shakes her head in disbelief at the same time, “we’re  _ very _ aware of that.”

A grimace crosses Raven’s face and a shudder wracks her body.

“Ugh, that’s so embarrassing.”

A phone goes off inside the tent and Raven disappears for a few second, before emerging once more with the ringing phone in her hand.

“It’s Anya,” she explains to Clarke and Lexa, as she lifts the phone to her ear. “Hey, babe! You’ll never guess who I just caught kissing.” Raven pauses expectantly, then a look of surprise flashes across her face. “How did you know it was Clarke and Lexa? What do you mean you figured it out a couple of weeks ago? And you didn’t think to tell me? I just spent the night sharing a tent with them and I had  _ no _ idea!”

Lexa laughs softly under her breath as Raven continues to talk exasperatedly at Anya over the phone, and pulls Clarke in for the embrace that got so rudely interrupted moments earlier.

“I guess they all know,” she says to Clarke, as Clarke relaxes into her arms and rests her head on Lexa’s shoulder. “We’ve gone public.”

“We’ve gone public,” Lexa repeats back, a slow smile spreading across her face.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” asks Clarke, lifting her head so that she can look Lexa in the eye.

Lexa glances across at Raven, who is still talking rapidly into her phone.

“They spooned me, Anya! I was lying between them and they  _ spooned _ me.”

Lexa sniggers to herself, and then says, “Not for us, at least. I think we might have traumatised Raven though!”


End file.
